Welcome to our Autumn 2023 E-Newsletter!
It’s been another busy season at SCAN, with more dogs and cats in need, transiting through the shelter. At times the shelter has been completely “full to the rafters” and other times, normally after a Guernsey trip, the place has been strangely quiet
There have been three trips to Guernsey, so far this year, with a total of 31 cats and 16 dogs starting new lives. Once again, our sincere thanks to everyone at Little Black Dog Guernsey Rescue and Adoption for their ongoing support. This makes a huge impact on our ability to keep on rescuing and to be really responsiveto theneedofcats and dogsin our area.
The third Guernsey trip was not without its challenges! The original ferry was cancelled due to bad weather and after a lot of negotiation, SCAN secured a place for the following weekend (a delay of four days). Fortunately, not too long for our new adopters to wait to meet their new furry family members.
It takes a huge amount of work to process the adoption applications, prepare the cats and dogs for travelling and to obtain the necessary paperwork required to transport them.
This was made more challenging this year due to the very high temperatures, which made the travelling and working conditionsmuch harder; together with the rescheduling of the trip at short notice.
We couldn’t do it without the help and support of our wonderful cat and dog volunteers, Teresa & Mateo of Vetercan, Pedreguer, Tina Pasquire of Little Black Dog Guernsey Rescue & Adoption, Steve Corley, and of course our SCAN dream team of Pamela & Barry Caulfield. These people all worked together to make it happen and our animals arrived safely.
Our reward for all this hard work is the moment when we see the cats and dogs settling into their loving new homes.
Waiting for the Ferry to Guernsey
Barto on his way to a new life!
Midge
After being found abandoned, or surrenderedtotheshelter,theywillnowbe part of a furever family.
2023 ADOPTION NEWS
We cannot mention all of our 2023 adoptions, but here are a few that have taken place this year to give you a flavour.
Off to Portugal!
We are delighted to announce that two dogs, Odin and Kira, have been transported to their new home in Portugal, which has grounds for them, described by Barry as being “half a mountainside”.
The new family originally applied to adopt Odin only, to relocate him to Portugal. However, before he travelled, they decided to adopt a friend for him, in Kira. Both dogs were in the SCAN shelter at the same time, so we were able to socialise them together before they left.
Odin and Kira have definitely landed on their paws and are living in luxury kennels with their own swimming pool! The owner is a local landowner, who is working to create a water theme park, with an Olympicsizeswimmingpoolandsurfwave machine, to support employment in the local community. Not long before Odin will be out on his surf board we hope!
Off to Holland
In March, Rosa packed her bags and left tostarthernewlifeinHollandinherfurever home!
Friendly, calm, loving and very beautiful, our Rosa stole the hearts of her new owners and they offered her a home. As you can see from the photo, she has settled in immediately.
Howfantastictoseeherattheheartofher own lovely new family.
in her new home in Guernsey
Odin and Kira in Portugal
Rosa loving life in Holland
What did Rosa’s new mum say when she arrived after her long journey?
“She is home thank you so much for choosing me, I’m going to give her the best possible princess life that she deserves”
GoodLucktoourbeautifulgirl.Wewillmiss her!
Off to Germany!
From the world of SCAN Cats, two of our lucky boys have travelled to newhomesin Germany.
Sooty was previously adopted from SCAN as a youngster, but at the age of 14 he found himself back at the shelter after his owner sadly passed away. He lived with another cat called Toby, who came back with him, but unfortunately, he passed away not long after his admission due to kidney failure. Sooty has now arrived at his fabulous new home where he has two feline friends to keep him company.
after he developed pneumonia, as the adopters didn’t feel they could manage. Now he is back tofullhealthand is making himself at home in Germany, with his new family and has two new siblings.
Handsome Anubis is now in Germany
Off to Javea!
Asher and Felicity, two gorgeous little kittens were left outside the gatesof SCAN in a cardboard box, suffering from colds and runny eyes.
There was a lot of interest in Asher, who is the handsome blue/grey male, but we wanted them to go as a pair. Asher and Felicity were then reserved for adoption together, when they went into foster.
Sooty looking very happy
Anubis was brought in to the shelter by a former adopter, after he was seen struggling to survive on the street and was trying to get into her home. He was initially adopted to locally, but was brought back
Whilst in Foster, we realised that the original adoption could not continue, however, before they were due to return to the shelter, a local lady contacted us and asked to come and visit them
It was of course love at first sight and they are now living very happily in Javea with their new mum and they are together!
SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS
It’s been a busy year so far! Here are some of the highlights from the SCAN social calendar for 2023.
ANIMAL BLESSING (March)
This popular annual event, took place in March, when we were fortunate to be “blessed” with great weather. There was a huge turnout for our BBQ and music from “The 3 Music Teers”.
PICNIC PARTY IN THE PARK (June)
Now firmly one of our most popular annual events; what a brilliant evening we all had at the SCAN Picnic Party in the Park, in the amazing setting of Los Arcos.
It was a beautiful warm evening, in the Costa Blanca and the event was completely sold out. Live music, lots of food and drinks, plus a raffle on offer, ensured a fun evening for everyone.
Thanks to all those who attended to make it a night to remember. A big shout out to the fabulous band “The Entertainers” who gave us a wonderful show and had everyone on their feet!
Special thanks to our Vicars, who blessed the SCAN shelter animals and the guest animals. It’s a truly lovely event and we hope everyone enjoyed the day.
EASTER BBQ and QUIZ NIGHT (April)
Huge thanks as always to our incredible team, who organised and made this event happen.
Thanks to them and to the generosity of everyone who came along, we raised a grand total of €2,100
SUMMER SUNDOWN SOUNDS (July)
LIVE MUSIC NIGHT (September)
We were delighted to welcome a new guest host for the show, Jerry Kerlin, who guided the models down the red carpet and showcased a spectacular range of summer fashions, from beach wear to cocktail parties and dinner dates.
SCAN SUMMER FASHION SHOW (July)
An enthusiastic audience enjoyed an afternoon of music, a fashion parade and of course some retail therapy; all helping to raise funds to support the work of SCAN.
The afternoon began with some delightful music by duo Debi and Janette from “Angel Station” , whilst shoppers browsed the wide range of clothing and accessories on display. The SCAN Charity Boutique Team had worked hard to bring the shop to the show, with some great bargains to be had.
Huge thanks as always to our wonderful models, May, Anne, Suzi, Dee, Julie and Carol and the other volunteers, particularly from the SCAN Charity Shop, who made this event happen.
We raised €2,236.00 for the Shelter and everyone had a brilliant afternoon.
Thankstoeveryone whoattended for their support and generosity.
STILL TO COME!
SOME DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Save the Dates!
Monday 23rd October 2023
Coach Trip
IKEA and Bonaire Mall, Valencia
Sunday 12th November 2023
Winter Fashion Show
Casa Cultura, El Verger
Saturay 25th November 2023
The Entertainers in Concert
Casa Cultura, El Verger
Friday 15th December
SCAN Christmas Lunch
Venue TBC
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A VOLUNTEER AT SCAN? We often get asked what our Volunteers do? Here is a testimonial from Lisa, one of our Friday team!
Friday AM Shift (Dogs)
“I’ve been volunteering at SCAN since 2018, as SCAN had posted on Facebook, asking for help with dog walking. I contacted Barry and he asked me along to help out. I’ve now been part of the Friday morning team for about 2 years.
There are normally 4 or 5 volunteers on a Friday Morning. We all share the responsibilities, led by Hilary, our lovely team leader. On our shift, we are very lucky that one of our team (Jessica) comes in extra early and lets all the dogs out into the outside enclosures “campos”, then she cleans all the kennels before the walkers arrive.
This doesn’t happen on every shift, so we know we are really lucky that Jessica is such an early riser!! It’s a great system as it means we can walk all the dogs as soon as we arrive and give them lots of quality time away from their kennels.
Each morning, the priority is to get the dogs out. We exercise care, when putting all the dogs out, bearing in mind, not all the dogs get on; plus, we are sensitive to avoiding any unplanned puppies! We have six different exercise areas, all with access to water, toys and shade.
Once the kennels are all cleaned and disinfected and water bowls are changed, any bedding that needs washing goes into the kitchen and is replaced. Any poo is inspected for health reasons and we may take photos if we are concerned, for the vet to see.
As soon as the walkers arrive, dogs are taken out for walks in the local area, unless they are under the control of the vet to stay in the campo. This could include dogs or puppies that have not yet had their full vaccinations, or others that have, for example, recently had surgery or treatment.
We walk the dogs near to the Shelter, in the surrounding roads and lanes. Each dog has their own harness/lead and sometimes we walk in pairs or more, which some of the dogs seem to enjoy. Again, we are sensitive to the needs of each dog and respect their boundaries.
Each dog goes out for about 25-30 minutes and I can cover 5-6 kms on the shift, according to my step counter.
One of the nice traditions on a Friday morning is a short, but sociable coffee break at about 11:00. Volunteers take it in turns to bring in a snack and we have noticed that Barry quite often turns up about 11:00 to “help out”!
All dogs can also have exercise time in the campos and volunteers play ball or work with them in the interactive campo. There, they have fun and stimulating activities and agility games to play.
Occasionally, volunteers come and take a dog to the beach or for other experiences. This is great for socialising and getting dogs used to car travel. Some lucky dogs even get a trip out for breakfast in a café from time to time!
Whilst the walks are taking place, someone will prepare the dogs’ food for their breakfasts. Each dog has its own feeding card and we carefully weigh out the correct food, adding in any supplements, or medication.
We also prepare the dishes for the dogs’ meals for evening shift to save time.
It’s not quite “The Bake-Off”, but we have a few volunteers who like to bake cakes and other goodies to keep us going!
We also like to pick a dog to come and sit with us whilst we have our break, so they have lots of human interaction and socialisation.
Volunteering is very rewarding at SCAN. If you are interested in joining one of our friendly and sociable teams and making a different to dog’s lives, then why not register your interest? There are two shifts aday,sevendaysaweek,365daysayear and you can do as many shifts as you like!
After we’ve tidied up, we do other activities, like grooming or cleaning the campos. Then, we bring the dogs back in to their kennels for breakfast. Of course, the dogs get very excited when the bowls start coming out of the kitchen and there is a lot of tail wagging and barking.
Once food is over, we clean up everything, reload the washing machines, hang everything up to dry, then select the dogs to leave out during the afternoon (weather dependent of course). Hilary will write up the diary and then make give a “shift update” for all other volunteers via WhatsApp.
That’s it then for the dogs, until the evening shift arrive!
Its good fun, so why not come and join us?”
Lisa “2” (Friday Morning Volunteer)
To find out more about joining our friendly, dedicated team of volunteers, please contact us on 626 550 864 and come along to see our centre, have a coffee and a chat.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND ADVERTISING 2023
We have now joined Instagram and you can view our update, videos and stories on our Instagram Page. @scan.protectora
We are also now starting to use our new Fundraising QR Code, so you should start to see this on our advertising and social media pages.
ADOPTION STORIES
From some of our wonderful supporters.
RON
Ron was adopted by a lovely family in Guernsey in February 2023. Here’s what they have told us!
“Ron is gorgeous and we love him. He's settled in very quickly and he sleeps on our bed and he goes where we go.
NACHO
Nacho has been with a wonderful family for two years now. Nacho lives in Orba, not too far from the Shelter.
He was left at SCAN with three sisters and all four were shut inside a sealed plastic storage box in the soaring heat. Despite this shaky start, Nacho blossomed into a sweet natured boy.
He is now a pampered little prince! Nacho’s family told us:
There are a few issues with other dogs and some people, but he's a very happy little boy. Thank you for looking after him so well. I was broken hearted when we lost our dog Archie, but Ron has bought a lot of love in the house again.
“We chose Nacho thanks to the great description of his character provided by SCAN. He has fitted in so well with our 2 small dogs and in fact, we think he now identifies as a dog!
He runs to greet our car and rolls on his back just like them.
We call them the Three Amigos ”
Sarah and Ian, Nacho’s family
Ron loves to sit in the garden with us. He's crazy mad for catching flies. He's so funny. We have lots of birds in the garden and he's fascinated with them. Boy, can he move!!”
Chris & Jon, Ron’s family
If you would like your cat or dog to feature in the next edition of the SCAN Newsletter, please send photographs and some comments to: scanmarketingteam@gmail.com
Published by SCAN © September 2023
Thanks resident photographer, Yvonne Bouma for use of her brilliant photographs and to all the SCAN Volunteers.
SCAN is a registered charity in the northern Costa Blanca rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming abandoned cats and dogs. Many animals arriving at our Shelter are abused, sick, starving, and some have been only hours away from death. Animals leaving our shelter go to caring, loving forever homes, never again to be maltreated.
SCAN has a NO KILL policy for healthy animals. From the moment an animal enters our Shelter, it is given everything it needs to recover and to thrive. We keep the promise we make to every cat and dog that enters our shelter: “You're a SCAN animal now, you're safe.”
We work closely with the local authorities, the police and the local vets. Everyone involved is focussed on the welfare and Care of Animals in Need. Our mission is to protect those who cannot speak for themselves.
SCAN Centre
Poligono Industrial
Calle Alcoi (sn)
Esq Cami Cremadella
El Verger 03770
General Enquiries
626 550 864
Detailsondonatingcanbe foundonourwebsite:
https://www.scancostablanca.com/donations
SCAN is looking for volunteers to help us look after our cats and dogs, or to work our Charity Boutique.
Whatever you can help us with, whatever amount of time you can give, in the shelter or shop, your work will help our animals on their journeys to new, brighter lives.
To find out more about joining our friendly, dedicated team of volunteers, please contact us on 626 550 864 and come along to see our centre, have a coffee and a chat.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?
